Chapter XI.
Opposition To Napoleon - The Establishment Of The Empire - King Of Italy
While the preparation for the invasion was going on, the feeling
against England was intensified by the discovery of a plot against the
life of the First Consul. Georges Cadoudal, a fanatical royalist, who was
accused of being connected with the plot of the 3d Nivose (December 24),
and who had since been in England, had formed a gigantic conspiracy,
having as its object nothing less than the assassination of Napoleon in
broad daylight, in the streets of Paris.
He had secured powerful aid to carry out his plan. The Bourbon
princess supported him, and one of them was to land on the north coast and
put himself at the head of the royalist sympathizers as soon as the First
Consul was killed. In this plot was associated Pichegru, who had been
connected with the 18th Fructidor. General Moreau, the hero of
Hohenlinden, was suspected of knowing something of it.
It came to light in time, and a general arrest was made of those
suspected of being privy to it. The first to be tried and punished was
the Duc d'Enghien, who had been seized at Ettenheim, in Baden, a short
distance from the French frontier, on the supposition that he had been
coming secretly to Paris to be present at the meetings of the
conspirators. His trial at Vincennes was short, his execution immediate.
There is good reason to believe that Napoleon had no suspicion that the
Duc d'Enghien would be executed so soon as he was, and even to suppose
that he would have lightened the sentence if the punishment had not been
pushed on with an irregularity and inhumanity that recalls the days of the
Terror.
The execution was a severe blow to Napoleon's popularity, both at
home and abroad. Fouche's cynical remark was just: "The death of the Duc
d'Enghien is worse than a crime; it is a blunder." Chateaubriand, who had
accepted a foreign embassy, resigned at once, and a number of the old
aristocracy, such as Pasquier and Mole, who had been saying among
themselves that it was their duty to support Napoleon's splendid work of
reorganization, went back into obscurity. In society the effect was
distressing. The members of Napoleon's own household met him with averted
faces and sad countenances, and Josephine wept until he called her a child
who understood nothing of politics. Abroad there was a revulsion of
sympathy, particularly in the cabinets of Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
The trial of Cadoudal and Moreau followed. The former with several
of his accomplices was executed. Moreau was exiled for two years.
Pichegru committed suicide in the Temple.
This plot showed Napoleon and his friends that a Jacobin or royalist
fanatic might any day end the life upon which the scheme of reorganization
depended. It is true he had already been made First Consul for life by a
practically unanimous vote, but there was need of strengthening his
position and providing a succession. In March, six days after the death
of the Duc d'Enghien, the Senate proposed to him that he complete his work
and take the throne. In April the Council of State and the Tribunate took
up the discussion. The opinion of the majority was voiced by Regnault de
Saint-Jean d'Angely: "It is a long time since all reasonable men, all true
friends of their country, have wished that the First Consul would make
himself emperor, and reestablish, in favor of his family, the old
principles of hereditary succession. It is the only means of securing
permanency for his own fortune, and to the men whom merit has raised to
high offices. The Republic, which I loved passionately, while I detested
the crimes of the Revolution, is now in my eyes a mere Utopia. The First
Consul has convinced me that he wishes to possess supreme power only to
render France great, free, and happy, and to protect her against the fury
of factions."
The Senate soon after proceeded in a body to the Tuileries. "You
have extricated us from the chaos of the past," said the spokesman; "you
enable us to enjoy the blessings of the present; guarantee to us the
future." On the 18th of May, 1804, when thirty-five years old, Napoleon
was first addressed as "sire," and congratulated on his elevation to the
throne of the French people.
Immediately his household took on the forms of royalty. His mother
was Madame Mere; Joseph, Grand-Elector, with the title of Imperial
Highness; Louis, Constable, with the same title; his sisters were Imperial
Highnesses. Titles were given to all officials; the ministers were
excellencies; Cambaceres and Le Brun, the Second and Third Consuls, bcame
Arch Chancellor and Arch Treasurer of the Empire. Of his generals,
Berthier, Murat, Moncey, Jourdan, Massena, Augureau, Bernadotte, Soult,
Brune, Lannes, Mortier, Ney, Davoust, and Bessieres were made marshals.
The red button of the Legion of Honor was scattered in profusion. The
title of citoyen, which had been consecrated by the Revolution, was
dropped, and hereafter everybody was called monsieur.
Two of Napoleon's brothers, unhappily, had no part in these honors.
Jerome, who had been serving as lieutenant in the navy, had, in 1803,
while in the United States, married a Miss Elizabeth Patterson of
Baltimore. Napoleon forbade the recording of the marriage, and declared
it void. As Jerome had not as yet given up his wife, he had no share in
the imperial rewards. Lucien was likewise omitted, and for a similar
reason. His first wife had died in 1801, and much against Napoleon's
wishes he had married a Madame Jouberthon, to whom he was deeply attached;
nothing could induce him to renounce his wife and take the Queen of
Etruria, as Napoleon wished. The result of his refusal was a violent
quarrel between the brothers, and Lucien left France.
This rupture was certainly a grief to Napoleon. Madame de Remusat
draws a pathetic little picture of the effect upon him of the last
interview with Lucien:
"It was near midnight when Bonaparte came into the room; he was
deeply dejected, and, throwing himself into an arm-chair, he exclaimed in
a troubled voice, 'It is all over! I have broken with Lucien, and ordered
him from my presence.' Madame Bonaparte began to expostulate. 'You are a
good woman,' he said, 'to plead for him.' Then he rose from his chair,
took his wife in his arms, and laid her head softly on his shoulder, and
with his hand still resting on the beautiful head, which formed a contrast
to the sad, set countenance so near it, he told us that Lucien had
resisted all his entreaties, and that he had resorted equally in vain to
both threats and persuasion. 'It is hard, though,' he added, 'to find in
one's own family such stubborn opposition to interests of such magnitude.
Must I, then, isolate myself from every one? Must I rely on myself alone?
Well! I will suffice to myself; and you, Josephine - you will be my
comfort always."
A fever of etiquette seized on all the inhabitants of the imperial
palace of Saint Cloud. The ponderous regulations of Louis XIV. were taken
down from the shelves in the library, and from them a code began to be
compiled. Madame Campan, who had been First Bedchamber Woman to Marie
Antoinette, was summoned to interpret the solemn law, and to describe
costumes and customs. Monsieur de Talleyrand, who had been made Grand
Chamberlain, was an authority who was consulted on everything.
"We all felt ourselves more or less elevated," says Madame de
Remusat. "Vanity is ingenious in its expectations, and ours were
unlimited. Sometimes it was disenchanting, for a moment, to observe the
almost ridiculous effect which this agitation produced upon certain
classes of society. Those who had nothing to do with our brand new
dignities said with Montaigne, 'Let us avenge ourselves by railing at
them.' Jests, more or less witty, and puns, more or less ingenious, were
lavished on these new-made princes, and somewhat disturbed our brilliant
visions; but the number of those who dare to censure success is small, and
flattery was much more common than criticism."
No one was more severe in matters of etiquette than Napoleon himself.
He studied the subject with the same attention that he did the civil code,
and in much the same way. "In concert with Monsieur de Segur," he wrote
De Champagny, "you must write me a report as to the way in which ministers
and ambassadors should be received. . . . It will be well for you to
enlighten me as to what was the practice at Versailles, and what is done
at Vienna and St. Petersburg. Once my regulations adopted, everyone must
conform to them. I am master, to establish what rules I like in France."
He had some difficulty with his old comrades-in-arms, who were
accustomed to addressing him in her the familiar second singular, and
calling him Bonaparte, and who persisted, occasionally, even after he was
"sire," in using the language of easy intimacy. Lannes was even removed
for some time from his place near the emperor for an indiscretion of this
kind.
In August, 1804, the new emperor visited Boulogne to receive the
congratulations of his army and distribute decorations. His visit was
celebrated by a magnificent fete. Those who know the locality of
Boulogne, remember, north of the town, an amphitheatre-like plane, plain,
in the centre of which is a hill. In this plain sixty thousand men were
camped. On the elevation was erected a throne. Hereby stood the chair of
Dagobert; behind it the armor of Francis I.; and around rose scores of
blood-stained, bullet-shot flags, the trophies of Italy and Egypt. Beside
the emperor was the helmet of Bayard, filled with the decorations to be
distributed. Up and down the coast were the French batteries; in the port
lay the flotilla; to the right and left stretched the splendid army.
Just as the ceremonies were finished, a fleet of over a thousand
boats came sailing into the harbor to join those already there, while out
in the Channel English officers and sailors, with levelled glasses,
watched from their vessels the splendid armament, which was celebrating
its approaching descent on their shores.
On December 1st the Senate presented the emperor the result of the
vote taken among the people as to whether hereditary succession should be
adopted. There were two thousand five hundred and seventy-nine votes
against; three million five hundred and seventy-five thousand for - a vote
more nearly unanimous than that for the life consulate, there being
something like nine thousand against him then.
The next day Napoleon was crowned at Notre Dame. The ceremony was
prepared with the greatest care. Grand Master of Ceremonies de Segur,
aided by the painter David, drew up the plan and trained the court with
great severity in the etiquette of the occasion. He had the widest
liberty, it even being provided that "if it be indispensable, in order
that the cortege arrive at Notre Dame with greater facility, to pull down
some houses," it should be done. By a master stroke of diplomacy Napoleon
had persuaded Pope Pius VII. to cross the Alps to perform for him the
solemn and ancient service of coronation.
Of this ceremony we have no better description than that of Madame
Junot:
"Who that saw Notre Dame on that memorable day can ever forget it?
i? I have witnessed in that venerable pile the celebration of sumptuous
and solemn festivals; but never did I see anything at all approximating in
splendor the spectacle exhibited at Napoleon's coronation. The vaulted
roof re-echoed the sacred chanting of the priest, priests, who invoked the
blessing of the Almighty on the ceremony about to be celebrated, while
they awaited the arrival of the Vicar of Christ, whose throne was prepared
near the altar. Along the ancient walls covered with magnificent tapestry
were ranged, according to their rank, the different bodies of the state,
the deputies from every city; in short, the representatives of all France
assembled to implore the benediction of Heaven on the sovereign of on the
people's choice. The waving plumes which adorned the hats of the
senators, counsellors of state, and tribunes; the!the splendid uniforms of
the military; the clergy in all their ecclesiastical pomp; and the
multitude of young and beautiful women, glittering in jewels, and arrayed
in that style of grace and elegance which is only seen in Paris; -
altogether presented a picture which has, perhaps, rarely been equalled,
and certainly never excelled.
"The Pope arrived first; and at the moment of his entering the
Cathedral, the anthem antem Tu es Petrus was commended. commenced. His
Holiness advanced from the door with an air at once majestic and humble.
Ere long, the firing of a cannon announced the departure of the procession
from the Tuileries. From an early hour in the morning the weather had
been ben exceeding unfavorable. It was cold and rainy,!m and appearances
seemed to indicate that the procession would be anything but agreeable to
those who joined it. But, as if by the especial favor of Providence, of
which so many instances are observable in the career of Napoleon, the
clouds suddenly dispersed, the sky brightened up and the multitudes who
lined the streets from the Tuileries to the Cathedral, enjoyed the sight
of the procession without being being, as they had anticipated, drenched
by a December rain. Napoleon, as he passed along, was greeted by
heartfelt expression expressions of enthusiastic love and attachment.
"On his arrival at Notre Dame, Napoleon ascended the throne, which
was erected in front of the grand altar. Josephine took her place beside
him, surrounded by the assembled sovereigns of Europe. Napoleon appeared
singularly calm. clam. I watched him narrowly, with a view of discovering
whether his heart beat more highly beneath the imperial trappings than
under the uniform of the guards; but I could observe no difference, and
yet I was at the distance of only ten paces from him. The length of the
ceremony, however, seemed to weary him; and I saw him several times check
a yawn. Nevertheless, he did everything he was required to do, and did it
with propriety. When the Pope anointed him with the triple unction on his
head and both hands, hands. I fancied, from the direction of his eyes,
that he was thinking of wiping off the oil rather than of anything else;
and I was so perfectly acquainted with the workings of his countenance,
that I have no hesitation in saying that was really the thought that
crossed his mind at that moment. During the ceremony of anointing, the
Holy Father delivered that impressive prayer which concluded with these
words: 'Diffuse, 'Diffuse, O Lord, by my hands, the treasures of your
grace and benediction on your servant Napoleon, whom, in spite of our
personal unworthiness, we this day anoint emperor, in your name.' Napoleon
listened to this prayer with an air of pious devotion; but just as the
Pope was about to take the crown, called the Crown of Charlemagne, from
the altar, Napoleon seized it, and placed it on his own head. At that
moment he was really handsome, and his countenance was lighted up dup with
an expression of which no words can convey an idea.
"He had removed the wreath of laurel which he wore on entering the
church, and which encircles his brow in the fine picture of Gerard. The
crown was, perhaps, in itself, less becoming to him; but the expression
excited by the act of putting it on, rendered him perfectly handsome.
"When the moment arrived for Josephine to take an active part in the
grand drama, she descended from the throne and advanced towards the altar,
where the emperor awaited her, followed by her retinue of court ladies,
and having her train borne by the Princesses Caroline, Julie, Eliza, and
Louis. One of the chief beauties of the Empress Josephine was not merely
her fine figure, but the elegant turn of her neck, and the way in which
she carried her head; indeed, her deportment altogether was conspicuous
for dignity and grace. I have had the honor of being presented to many
real princesses, to use the phrase of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, but I
never saw one who, to my eyes, presented so perfect a personification of
elegance and majesty. In Napoleon's countenance I could read the
conviction of all I have just said. He looked with an air of complacency
at the empress as she advanced towards him; and when she knelt down, when
the tears, which she could not repress, fell upon her clasped hands, as
they were raised to Heaven, or rather to Napoleon, both then appeared to
enjoy one of those fleeting moments of pure felicity which are unique in a
lifetime, and serve to fill up a lustrum of years. The emperor performed,
with peculiar grace, every action required of him during the ceremony; but
his manner of crowning Josephine was most remarkable: after receiving the
small crown, surmounted by the cross he had first to place it on his own
head head, and then to transfer it to that of the empress. When the
moment arrived for placing the crown on the head of the woman whom popular
superstition regarded as his good genius, his manner was almost playful.
He took great pains to arrange this little crown, which was placed over
Josephine's tiara of diamonds; he put it on, then took it off, and finally
put it on again, as if no to promise her she should wear it gracefully and
lightly."
The fate of France had no sooner been settled, as Napoleon believed,
than it became necessary to decide on what should be done with Italy. The
crown was offered to Joseph, who refused it. He did not want to renounce
his claim to that of France, and finally Napoleon decided to take it
himself. A new constitution was prepared for the country by the French
Senate, and, when all was arranged, Napoleon started on April 1st for
Italy. A great train accompanied him, and the trip was of especial
interest. The party crossed the Alps by Mont Cenis, and the road was so
bad that the carriages had to be taken to pieces and carried over, while
the travellers walked. This trip really led to the fine roads which now
cross Mont Cenis. At Alessandria Napoleon halted, and on the field of
Marengo ordered a review of the manoeuvres of the famous battle. At this
review he even wore the coat and hat he had worn on that famous day four
years before.
By the time the imperial party was ready to enter Milan, on May 13,
it had increased to a triumphal procession, and the entry was attended by
most enthusiastic demonstrations. On May 26 the coronation took place.
The iron crown, used so long for the coronation of the Lombard kings, had
been brought out for the occasion. When the point in the ceremony was
reached where the crown was to be placed on Napoleon's head, he seized it,
and with his own hands placed it on his head, repeating in a loud voice
the words inscribed on the crown: "God gives it to me; beware who touches
it." Josephine was not crowned Queen of Italy, but watched the scene from
a gallery above the altar.
Napoleon remained in Italy for another month, engaged in settling the
affairs of the country. The order of the Crown of Iron was created, the
constitution settled, Prince Eugene was made viceroy, and Genoa was joined
to the Empire.
